IoT DEVICE, DATA TRANSFER SYSTEM, AND DATA TRANSFER METHOD

Abstract

To provide an IoT device, a data transfer system, and a data transfer method that efficiently and safely transfer data from a device control computer to cloud storage.SOLUTION: An IoT device 10 that transfers data from an equipment control computer 101 to cloud storage 103 includes a control computer interface 21, an access information notification unit 22, a network interface 23, and a local disk 24. The access information notification unit notifies a user 102 of access information to the cloud storage. When a user 102 establishes access to the cloud storage on the basis of the access information notified by the access information notification unit, the local disk is mounted on the control computer, receives data from the control computer via the control computer interface, and transfers the received data to the cloud storage via the network interface.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an IoT device, a data transfer system, and a data transfer method. [Background technology]

[0002] Hereinafter, in this specification, the term "equipment" refers to experimental equipment, manufacturing equipment, measurement equipment, analytical equipment, etc. in experimental facilities and factories. In experimental facilities for materials, etc., there are Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) that collect large amounts of data generated by the equipment, store them in remote storage such as the cloud or in a database, and structure, analyze, and publish the data (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0003] [Non-Patent Document 1] Ben Blaiszik, Kyle Chard, Jim Pruyne, Rachana Ananthakrishnan, Steven Tuecke, and Ian Foster. 2016. The materials data facility: data services to advance materials science research. Jom 68, 8 (2016), 2045.2052. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Materials laboratories are composed of various instruments and control computers to manage them. Data obtained from the instruments, such as image data and sensor data, are output to the respective control computers, where they are analyzed in real time or extracted for further analysis.

[0005] The network environment of such experimental facilities is usually based on a local area network (LAN) between control computers via a standard Ethernet interface or the like. As long as each experimental facility is logically isolated from the external network via a firewall, such a LAN can prohibit unauthorized access and ensure secure data transfer from the control computer to the cloud. However, in the case of large-scale joint-use research institutions such as universities and national laboratories, it is difficult to completely eliminate unauthorized access.

[0006] Large-scale research institutes are equipped with advanced and expensive equipment that is shared by many researchers. The control computers for these instruments often operate for long periods of time, such as more than ten years after installation. These control computers also have hardware interfaces, drivers, software, etc. that are specially adjusted and optimized for specific experimental systems. For this reason, it is difficult to build a simple network environment between all control computers using Ethernet, etc.

[0007] Furthermore, many of these control computers are built on previous generation operating systems (OS), making it difficult to install additional software or perform OS updates or security patch updates. This increases the risk of external cyber attacks. Furthermore, the control computer itself may already be infected with a virus.

[0008] For these reasons, even today, the control computers of many instruments are operated and managed in a standalone environment that is not connected to a network. In this case, data is extracted using removable storage devices such as USB (registered trademark) memory and DVD (registered trademark). Using such storage devices eliminates the risk of data leakage and cyber attacks and minimizes the possibility of data being confused between users. However, in this case, it is difficult to efficiently process large amounts of data from many users. Therefore, even for control computers in large-scale experimental facilities, there is a strong demand for the use of network-based storage, i.e., cloud storage.

[0009] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its objective to provide a technique that enables data in a device's control computer to be transferred to cloud storage efficiently and safely. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] In order to solve the above problem, an IoT device according to an embodiment of the present invention transfers data from a control computer of the device to cloud storage. The IoT device includes a control computer interface, an access information notification unit, a network interface, and a local disk. The access information notification unit notifies a user of access information to the cloud storage. The control computer interface is connected to the control computer. The network interface is connected to the cloud storage via a network. When the user establishes access to the cloud storage based on the access information notified from the access information notification unit, the local disk is mounted on the control computer, receives data from the control computer via the control computer interface, and transfers the received data to the cloud storage via the network interface.

[0011] According to this embodiment, data from the device's control computer can be transferred to cloud storage efficiently and safely.

[0012] In one embodiment, when a network failure occurs during data transfer from a local disk to cloud storage, the data may be resent from the local disk to the cloud storage while the local disk remains mounted, and when an IoT device fails during data transfer from the local disk to cloud storage, the local disk may be unmounted, remounted, and then the data may be resent from the local disk to the cloud storage.

[0013] In one embodiment, when an IoT device fails during data transfer from the control computer to the local disk, the local disk may be unmounted, remounted, and then the data may be resent from the control computer to the local disk.

[0014] In one embodiment, the IoT device may be rebooted when the IoT device fails before user authentication to the cloud storage is established.

[0015] In one embodiment, the IoT device may be rebooted when the network fails before user authentication to the cloud storage is established.

[0016] In one embodiment, when the IoT device fails after establishing user authentication but before mounting the local disk, the IoT device may be rebooted.

[0017] In one embodiment, after mounting the local disk and before transferring data from the local disk to the cloud storage, data may be resent from the local disk to the cloud storage in the event of a network failure.

[0018] In one embodiment, when an IoT device fails after mounting the local disk of the IoT device but before transferring data from the local disk to cloud storage, the local disk may be unmounted and then remounted.

[0019] In one embodiment, if the network fails after the data transfer from the local disk to the cloud storage is complete but before the user logs out, the logout sequence may be redone.

[0020] In one embodiment, the access information notification unit may be a display.

[0021] In one embodiment, the access information notification unit may be a short-range wireless communication device.

[0022] Another aspect of the present invention is a data transfer system. The data transfer system includes any one of the above-mentioned IoT devices, a control computer for the device, and a cloud storage. The configuration and operation of the IoT device are as described above.

[0023] According to this aspect, it is possible to realize a system that can efficiently and safely transfer data from a device's control computer to cloud storage.

[0024] Yet another aspect of the present invention is a data transfer method. This data transfer method is a method of transferring data from a control computer of the device to a cloud storage using any of the above-mentioned IoT devices. This IoT device includes a control computer interface connected to the control computer, an access information notification unit, a network interface connected to the cloud storage via a network, and a local disk. This data transfer method includes a step of notifying a user of access information to the cloud storage using the access information notification unit, a step of mounting the local disk on the control computer when the user establishes access to the cloud storage based on the access information notified from the access information notification unit, a step of transmitting data of the control computer to the local disk via the control computer interface, and a step of transferring data from the local disk to the cloud storage via the network interface.

[0025] According to this embodiment, data from the device's control computer can be efficiently and securely transferred to cloud storage using an IoT device.

[0026] Any combination of the above components, and any transformation of the present invention into an apparatus, method, system, recording medium, computer program, etc., are also effective as aspects of the present invention. Effect of the Invention

[0027] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a technique for efficiently and safely transferring data from a control computer of a device to cloud storage. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0028] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an IoT device according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] 1 is a photograph of an IoT device according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 3]FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the operation of the IoT device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a data transfer system according to a second embodiment. [Diagram 5] 13 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a data transfer method according to a third embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0029] The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings based on preferred embodiments. The embodiments are illustrative and do not limit the invention. All features and combinations described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the invention. The same or equivalent components, members, and processes shown in each drawing are given the same reference numerals, and duplicated descriptions are omitted as appropriate. In addition, the scale and shape of each part shown in each drawing are set for convenience to facilitate explanation, and are not to be interpreted as being limiting unless otherwise specified. In addition, when terms such as "first" and "second" are used in this specification or claims, unless otherwise specified, these terms do not represent any order or importance, but are only intended to distinguish one configuration from another. In addition, some of the members that are not important in explaining the embodiment in each drawing are omitted.

[0030] The basic idea of ​​the present disclosure is to transfer data from a control computer to a user area of ​​cloud storage using an IoT (Internet of Things) device. Here, an IoT device refers to a device that can be connected to a network, is placed at the end of the control computer of the device, and transfers data from the control computer to cloud storage. Generally, many control computers are equipped with a USB driver and a USB interface, so the IoT device of the present disclosure is particularly useful when configured based on USB.

[0031] When transferring data to cloud storage via such IoT devices, the following challenges arise: 1. Collaboration with user management systems USB drivers and the like only have the function of mounting an external disk (in the case of this disclosure, a disk in an IoT device). For this reason, it is not possible to allocate folders for each user. Therefore, data transfer in cooperation with the user management system of the cloud storage is necessary. 2. Data transfer in an unstable execution or network environment While the introduction cost of IoT devices is low, operational stability is not guaranteed. For this reason, data transfer must take into consideration fault tolerance against failures such as network interruptions and sudden device downtime. This in particular poses many challenges in coordinating with user management. For example, even if a device goes down during data transfer, the confidentiality and integrity of each user's data must be guaranteed, and the state must be recovered when the device is restarted. 3. Scalability Even when dozens or even hundreds of IoT devices are deployed, it is necessary to be able to efficiently manage data and devices.

[0032] [First embodiment] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an IoT device 10 according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a photograph of the IoT device 10. The IoT device 10 includes a control computer interface 21, an access information notification unit 22, and a network interface 23. The control computer interface 21 is connected to a control computer 101 of the device. The access information notification unit 22 notifies a user 102 of access information to a cloud storage 103. The network interface 23 is connected to the cloud storage 103 via a network NW. The user 102 has a portable user terminal 104, such as a smartphone, tablet, or laptop PC, capable of short-distance communication with the access information notification unit 22.

[0033] The control computer interface 21 includes, for example, a USB OTG (On The Go) interface. The USB OTG interface is a USB interface standard that allows USB peripheral devices to connect and communicate with each other without using a personal computer or the like as a host by providing a host function to the USB peripheral device. Hereinafter, the operation of the IoT device 10 will be described assuming that the control computer interface 21 includes a USB OTG interface. In this case, the control computer 101 does not need to be directly connected to the Internet or the like, and it is sufficient that it has a USB OTG interface.

[0034] The access information notification unit 22 is, for example, a display that displays a QR code (registered trademark). Alternatively, the access information notification unit 22 is a short-range wireless communication device using NFC (Near Field Communication), Bluetooth (registered trademark), etc. The access information notification unit 22 notifies the user 102 of access information to the cloud storage 103.

[0035] For example, if the access information notification unit 22 is configured as a display, this display displays a QR code. When the user 102 reads this QR code using the user terminal 104, an access URL is displayed on the user terminal 104. When the user 102 then accesses the URL from the user terminal 104, a login screen for the cloud storage 103 is displayed on the screen of the user terminal 104. When the user 102 enters a user ID and password on this login screen, the control computer 101 displays the user's own personal area (personal folder) in the cloud storage 103. The user 102 can access this personal folder in the cloud storage from the control computer 101.

[0036] Similarly, for example, when the access information notification unit 22 is configured with a short-range wireless communication device, this short-range wireless communication device transmits an access URL to the user terminal 104. Next, when the user 102 accesses the URL from the user terminal 104, a login screen for the cloud storage 103 is displayed on the screen of the user terminal 104. When the user 102 inputs a user ID and password on this login screen, the control computer 101 shows the user's own personal area (personal folder) in the cloud storage 103. The user 102 can access this personal folder in the cloud storage from the control computer 101.

[0037] The authenticated user ID and folder name are updated on the cloud storage side. The IoT device obtains (pull) the updated user ID and folder name and stores them in a local storage area. When sending messages from a highly reliable central server (i.e., cloud storage) to a large number of unreliable IoT devices, such pull-type communication is superior in terms of scalability to simple push-type communication.

[0038] In this way, by issuing an access URL to a user who has an account on cloud storage 103 via access information notification unit 22, the user management system of cloud storage 103 can identify the user currently using the device and block unauthorized access from other users. Furthermore, this URL is a temporary URL code that is periodically updated. The user management system of cloud storage 103 permits access only if the temporary URL code is the latest and user authentication is successful.

[0039] When the user authentication to the cloud storage 103 is successful, the IoT device 10 connects to the control computer 101 in USB gadget mode. As a result, the local disk 24 of the IoT device 10 is recognized as a USB disk by the control computer 101. In other words, the local disk 24 of the IoT device 10 is mounted on the control computer 101. Data from the control computer 101 is transmitted to the local disk 24 via the control computer interface 21 by a user operation.

[0040] The data transferred to the local disk 24 is instantly transferred to a personal folder in the cloud storage 103 via the network interface 23.

[0041] When the user finishes data communication and logs out from the cloud storage, the user management system of the cloud storage 103 requests the IoT device 10 to end data transfer. The IoT device 10 deletes the data, user ID, and folder name from the local disk, and releases the USB connection with the control computer 101.

[0042] FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of the operation of the IoT device 10 described above.

[0043] As described above, according to this embodiment, by combining a mechanism for connecting in USB gadget mode via a USB OTG interface with a mechanism for user authentication, data can be efficiently and securely transferred to the personal area of ​​cloud storage for each user.

[0044] [Fault Tolerance] At various times during data transfer, failures or interruptions may occur in IoT devices or networks. According to the operation of the software on the IoT device of this embodiment, fault tolerance against these is guaranteed. The basic concept of operation when a failure occurs is as follows. 1. To avoid data confusion, if data remains in an IoT device, a user ID must be associated with that data. For this reason, IoT devices must store the user ID before starting data transfer and delete the user ID after data transfer is complete. This ensures that even if an IoT device or network fails, the user ID will not be lost and data will not remain alone. 2. In case of network failure, retransmit data or restart IoT devices. 3. If the user ID and data remain when the IoT device is rebooted, this data is transferred immediately. After that, the data is deleted first, followed by the user ID.

[0045] IoT device and network failure cases can be categorized as follows, depending on when the failure occurred. Below, we will explain how to recover from each case.

[0046] (Case 1) If the IoT device fails before user authentication is established. (How to restore) The local disk of the IoT device is not mounted. Therefore, reboot the IoT device. After that, follow the normal sequence.

[0047] (Case 2) The network fails before user authentication is established. (How to restore) As in case 1, the local disk of the IoT device is not mounted. Therefore, the IoT device is rebooted. After that, the normal sequence is followed.

[0048] (Case 3) The IoT device fails after user authentication has been established but before the local disk on the IoT device is mounted. (How to restore) In this case, the user ID and folder name are stored in the IoT device, but the local disk is not mounted. Therefore, reboot the IoT device.

[0049] (Case 4) The network fails after the IoT device's local disk is mounted but before data is transferred from the local disk to the cloud storage. (How to restore) Data has been transferred from the control computer to the local disk. However, data has not been transferred from the local disk to the cloud storage. Therefore, data is resent from the local disk to the cloud storage.

[0050] (Case 5) The IoT device fails after mounting the local disk of the IoT device but before transferring data from the local disk to the cloud storage. (How to restore) Unmount the local disk and then mount it again.

[0051] (Case 6) When the network fails during data transfer from the IoT device's local disk to cloud storage. (How to restore) Re-send data from the local disk to cloud storage while keeping the local disk mounted.

[0052] (Case 7) If an IoT device fails during data transfer from the control computer to the local disk of the IoT device. (How to restore) The local disk is temporarily unmounted and then remounted, and the data is then resent from the control computer to the local disk.

[0053] (Case 8) The network fails after the data transfer from the IoT device's local disk to the cloud storage is complete, but before the user logs out. (How to restore) Redo the logout sequence.

[0054] (Case 9) When an IoT device fails during data transfer from its local disk to cloud storage. (How to restore) Unmount the local disk and then mount it again, then resend the data from the local disk to the cloud storage.

[0055] Among these, the most important are case 6 and case 9. The next most important is case 7. Therefore, preferably, the IoT device includes recovery operations for case 6 and case 9. More preferably, the IoT device further includes recovery operations for case 7. Even more preferably, the IoT device further includes recovery operations for other cases.

[0056] [Second embodiment] 4 is a schematic diagram of a data transfer system 30 according to a second embodiment. The data transfer system 30 includes any one of the above-mentioned IoT devices 10, a device control computer 101, and a cloud storage 103. The configuration and operation of the IoT device 10 are as described above.

[0057] According to this embodiment, it is possible to realize a system that can efficiently and safely transfer data from a control computer of a device to cloud storage.

[0058] [Third embodiment] 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a data transfer method according to a third embodiment. This data transfer method is a method of transferring data from a control computer of the device to a cloud storage using any of the above-mentioned IoT devices. This IoT device includes a control computer interface connected to the control computer, an access information notification unit, a network interface connected to the cloud storage via a network, and a local disk. This data transfer method includes step S1 of notifying a user of access information to the cloud storage using the access information notification unit, step S2 of mounting the local disk on the control computer when the user establishes access to the cloud storage based on the access information notified from the access information notification unit, step S3 of transmitting data of the control computer to the local disk via the control computer interface, and step S4 of transferring data from the local disk to the cloud storage via the network interface.

[0059] According to this embodiment, data from a device's control computer can be efficiently and safely transferred to cloud storage using an IoT device.

[0060] The present invention has been described above based on the embodiments. These embodiments are merely examples, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications are possible in the combination of each component and each treatment process, and that such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention.

[0061] For example, in the embodiments, the control computer interface includes a USB OTG interface, but is not limited to this and the control computer interface may be any suitable IoT interface.

[0062] In understanding the technical idea that abstracts the embodiments and modifications, the technical idea should not be interpreted as being limited to the contents of the embodiments and modifications. The above-mentioned embodiments and modifications are merely illustrative examples, and many design modifications, such as changes, additions, and deletions of components, are possible. In the embodiments, the contents in which such design modifications are possible are emphasized by adding the notation "embodiment". However, design modifications are also permitted even in contents without such notation. [Industrial Applicability]

[0063] The technology disclosed herein can be widely used in data science, data-driven science, data utilization applications, and the like, utilizing large-scale experimental facilities at research institutes and universities. [Explanation of symbols]

[0064] 10. IoT devices, 21 Control computer interface, 22 Access information notification unit, 23 Network interface, 24 Local disk, 30 Data transfer system, 101 - Equipment control computer, 102 User, 103 · Cloud storage, 104 User terminal, NW: Network, S1: notifying a user of access information to a cloud storage; S2. Mounting a local disk of the IoT device on a control computer; S3... transmitting data of the control computer via the control computer interface to a local disk; S4 ··Transferring data from a local disk to cloud storage through a network interface.

Claims

1. An IoT device that transfers data from a device control computer to cloud storage, a control computer interface, an access information notifying unit, a network interface, and a local disk; Equipped with the access information notification unit notifies a user of access information to the cloud storage; the control computer interface is connected to the control computer; The network interface is connected to the cloud storage via a network; An IoT device characterized in that when the user establishes access to the cloud storage based on the access information notified by the access information notification unit, the local disk is mounted on the control computer, receives data from the control computer via the control computer interface, and transfers the received data to the cloud storage via the network interface.

2. When the network fails during data transfer from the local disk to the cloud storage, resending data from the local disk to the cloud storage while keeping the local disk mounted; The IoT device of claim 1, characterized in that when the IoT device fails during data transfer from the local disk to the cloud storage, the IoT device unmounts the local disk, mounts it again, and then resends the data from the local disk to the cloud storage.

3. The IoT device according to claim 2, characterized in that, when the IoT device fails during data transfer from the control computer to the local disk, the local disk is unmounted, remounted, and then the data is resent from the control computer to the local disk.

4. The IoT device according to claim 3 , further comprising: a restarting unit that restarts the IoT device when the IoT device fails before user authentication to the cloud storage is established.

5. The IoT device according to claim 3 , further comprising: a network failure detecting unit configured to detect a network failure before a user authentication is established to the cloud storage;

6. The IoT device according to claim 3, characterized in that when the IoT device fails after establishing user authentication to the cloud storage and before mounting the local disk, the IoT device is rebooted.

7. 4. The IoT device of claim 3, wherein when the network fails after mounting the local disk and before data transfer from the local disk to the cloud storage, data is resent from the local disk to the cloud storage.

8. The IoT device of claim 3, characterized in that when the IoT device fails after mounting the local disk of the IoT device and before transferring data from the local disk to cloud storage, the local disk is unmounted and then mounted again.

9. The IoT device of claim 3 , wherein the logout sequence is repeated when a network failure occurs after data transfer from the local disk to the cloud storage is completed but before the user logs out.

10. The IoT device according to claim 1 , wherein the access information notification unit is a display.

11. The IoT device according to claim 1 , wherein the access information notification unit is a short-range wireless communication device.

12. A data transfer system comprising: an IoT device according to any one of claims 1 to 9; an equipment control computer; and cloud storage.

13. 1. A method for transferring data from a control computer of an appliance to cloud storage using an IoT device, comprising: The IoT device includes a control computer interface connected to the control computer, an access information notification unit, a network interface connected to the cloud storage via a network, and a local disk. Equipped with notifying a user of access information to the cloud storage using the access information notification unit; When the user establishes access to the cloud storage based on the access information notified by the access information notifying unit, mounting the local disk on the control computer; transmitting said control computer data to said local disk via said control computer interface; transferring the data from the local disk to the cloud storage via the network interface; The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

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